My maternal grandfather was William (Bill) Stevens and he was born in St Ives, Cornwall in 1897 one of nine surviving children of John Burrell and Amelia Stevens (née Thomas). His family were involved with the fishing industry and many of his ancestors were master mariners. Grandad followed in their footsteps.  The picture on the left shows him in his navy uniform during WW1 when he served on the fishing trawler turned minesweeper HMS Amroth Castle.  

In peacetime he was the master of the fishing boat the “Amelia”. In September 1934 it was hit by a French steamer off Gurnard’s Head with the subsequent loss of life of three men including my grandfather’s two brothers, Freddie and Barney.  You can read a transcription of the write up in the Western Morning News here.